Workplace stress leading to exhaustion

Workplace stress leading to exhaustion

Workplace stress is increasingly leading to cases of exhaustion as a result of conditions such as insomnia, according to health consultancy Health@Work.

They say an increasingly large proportion of people contacting them for advice are reporting sleep troubles – an effect of workplace stress that is affecting at least one fifth of callers in Merseyside struggling with their jobs.

It comes as GPs are being advised to ask their patients about their sleep pattern, as insomnia becomes a growing health complaint.

People with insomnia are five times more likely to experience anxiety and depression. They are also at more than double the risk of developing illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes.

Ali Hargreaves from Health@Work explains: “We are regularly contacted by people whose stress and anxiety levels have affected their sleep -- it is a problem for around one in five people who get in touch with us.

“People say they are unable to switch off outside of working hours, and simply can’t stop worrying about work. In the worst instances, this insomnia can lead to exhaustion.”

The Liverpool-based training and support organisation has established a wide-range of support packages designed to assist employers to improve and promote positive health and wellbeing in the workplace.

Ali adds: “It is becoming an increasingly common problem. But there are steps people can take to help cope with a stressful work environment and reclaim a work-life balance.”

Health@Work offers workplace solutions such as meeting with employers to discuss job roles, and relaxation techniques. The organisation also recommends the work of mental health charity MIND, and will send literature out to anyone who contacts them.

For more information about Health@Work, visit www.healthatworkcentre.org.uk or call 0151 236 6608.